Page 17 of Fire Dragon Lover

She peeked out the window, wide eyed.

If the last twenty-four hours hadn’t been enough,someonehad queued the paparazzi in on the fact that she was pregnant, and with Logan’s baby, no less.

The crowd had only grown since she’d last checked and they now spilled out onto the street. Cameras flashed intermittently as they tried to get a juicy shot of her. They were parasites leeching off of her misfortune for a quick buck.

Gretchen clutched her stomach. It still wasn’t real.

Sure, the test came back positive, but knowing their passionate romp hadcreatedsomething? It was beyond consideration. Maybe she’d get used to it eventually, though right now, it was the least of her worries.

First, she had to strangle Jessica for being a loudmouth.

She was holed up in her room as she currently avoided her. That wouldn’t do. Gretchen stormed to her door and threw it open and found Jessica at her computer, playing at busy. “Couldn’t you knock-”

“Don’t act like you can’t hear them.” Gretchen didn’t raise her voice. Ever. But recent events were pushing her to the limit. “This is your fault.No oneelse knew.”

Jessica shrank in her chair, her voice near a whisper, “I only told my sister.”

“You shouldn’t have told anybody!” Blood rushed to her face. “It was my secret to keep.”

“I made her promise not to tell anyone, though. How was I supposed to know this would happen!” She stood with a guilty expression and came to her and reached out as if to console. “I’m sorry, Gretchen. Really, I am. Let’s figure this out together, okay?”

“You’re the one who got me into this mess.” She withdrew from Jessica’s touch. “What am I supposed to do now?! I can’t even leave!”

“What if I dress up as you?”

There was a brief pause as she considered it. “But you don’t look like me.”

“So?” Jessica asked as she shrugged. “I’ll cover-up. Pretend to be you for five minutes while you make your getaway out the back door. You call an Uber, meet it down the block, and you’re home-free.”

“Right, ’cause this is exactly how I wanted to spend my first day of unemployment, on the lam.” Gretchen scowled at no one and considered Jessica’s offer. Then, she sighed. “I guess it’ll have to do.

“But you owe me for this.”

Jessica put a hand to her chest. “It’ll never happen again.” Her frown curled into a naughty smile. “Now, how amIgoing to look likeyou?”

Gretchen issued a deadpanned look, then got to thinking.

They trashed her closet and found a cap, Uggs, and her favorite sweater. Jessica looked- almost passable, if not unfashionable. Gretchen marched her to the door. “Don’t say anything, or they’ll notice.”

Jessica nodded. “You’ve got this,” she said and gave her a quick squeeze.

Gretchen returned the gesture. “I’m still pissed.”

“I’ll make it up to you. Toodles!” She waggled her fingers before she slipped out to a roaring throng of paparazzi.

Gretchen bolted to the back door and slipped out while the crowd was occupied. Her pulse was pounding in her head but she made it to the sidewalk with little issue.

She breathed only a single sigh of relief when rough hands caught her arms, yanking her backward. Just as she was about to call out for help, blackness blanketed her vision and muffled her screams.

Twenty-Seven

Logan

Logan shoved through a group of stray paparazzi, fighting his way into their center. Exhaustion bore down on him but as the crowd began to notice, their attention—and endless stream of questions—turned on him.

He ignored them as he spotted the focus of their clamoring.

Was it Gretchen? He couldn’t see her well over the crowd but it must have been her because they were going wild. She was wearing a cap with her hair tucked beneath, and big gaudy sunglasses.

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